“No ideas and the ability to express them: That’s a journalist” (Quote from Karl Kraus)

Not too long ago, James Fallows, a writer and editor for the Atlantic wrote a piece about Jeremy Lin. In that article he claimed that his fellow Atlantic writer Bob Wright’s claim that Lin’s success is somehow partly due to him being Asian as “horseshit.” I really don’t want to harp on either of the articles main points but Fallows seems to have made one glaring error in regard to a claim he made in it that said,

[C]onsider last summer’s “basketbrawl,” in which the Chinese
military team Bayi Rockets slugged it out with the visiting Georgetown
Hoyas. The gratuitous aggression all came from the Chinese side, as
many Chinese commentators noted. [emphasis mine]

I emailed Fallows concerning this error. It may not be Fallow’s fault, I thought, for not seeing the clear video and other evidence that the whole brawl precipitated from a sucker punch thrown by the US player as I made clear in a previous post. Such a lapse is understandable for the video and the Chinese side is given rare attention by the western media and it’s taken as obvious fact not in need of any evidence that the fight was started and ended by “gratuitous,” violence from the Chinese side while the American players are innocent victims.

His response?

James Fallows:

Thanks for your note.

I’m basing what I said on someone who was at the game and showed me her videos. I don’t expect that to change your mind, but my point is that this wasn’t something I just made up. It was an opinion I came to on the basis of watching a first-hand video.

Me:

I can to my conclusions on first hand video as well. The difference is
that the video I saw was from the game’s professional cam, not some
handheld phone cam. Someone’s mistaken here. Grossly mistaken and the
quality video clearly shows what started the brawl

“Wow” indeed. It clearly shows the Hoyas player throwing the first
punch. But I guess someone already committed to horseshit will always
find a way to avoid the obvious. I guess throwing a sucker punch
precipitating the whole fight is now not in any way shape or form
“gratuitous violence”…

I bring this exchange up to show people the kind of sociopaths we are often dealing with. It should be constantly reminded that what we hear is a constant stream of propaganda from thoroughly corrupt individuals with axes to grind. When confronted with damning evidence, people in the western media behave like rabid wild animals cornered; they foam at the mouth, stomp their feet, throw hissy-fits but will never admit they were wrong no matter what. It’s not just that they are incompetent (which they clearly are). It’s the fact that they act with such incompetence combined with such ferocious arrogance, petulance and lack of accountability that makes them so dangerous. Journalists are some of the most incompetent and irresponsible people in the world at evaluating evidence but unfortunately are the very people that the public trusts to bring them the news.